Tag Archives: MIT

Those crazy MIT hackers have struck again with a new hack on the Great Dome. This time the pranksters attached the first seven notes of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” essentially Rick Rolling all of Cambridge.

Of course there is a rich history of “hacking” at MIT and you can read about all the old classics at hacks.mit.edu. The Great Dome is a popular target– the R2D2 and police car hacks are among my favorites from the past.

There’s a great book documenting all of the best MIT hacks (which by the way is the campus term for pranks).

An MIT-designed building with walls made entirely of water was unveiled Thursday at the opening of the Zaragoza World Expo in Spain.

From their press release:

The “water walls” that make up the structure are generated by high-speed computer controlled solenoid valves. They can be programmed to take varying shapes, to display patterns, images and text, and to respond dynamically to input from sensors.

“This capability enables architects to challenge many traditional ideas about architectural form,” says Mitchell. “Doors, for example, need not have fixed locations. When you walk up to them, water walls can open like the Red Sea for Moses, and then seamlessly close behind you.”

“The Digital Water Pavilion illustrates how buildings of the future may change their appearance and form from moment to moment, based on necessity and use,” says Ratti. “It is not easy to achieve such effects when dealing with concrete, bricks and mortar. But this becomes possible with digital water, which can appear and disappear.”

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About

Urban Prankster covers pranks, hacks, participatory art, and other creative endeavors that take place in public places in cities across the world. It is edited by Charlie Todd.
This blog was updated from 2008 to 2011. It was retired because in that time I realized I wasn't interested in being a blogger and that it was taking time away from my primary focus, creating.